Vending machines providing Narcan, fentanyl test strips to come to Kansas

By the end of the year, Kansans will see a new kind of vending machine that will give them access to fentanyl test strips (FTS) and the opioid reversal medication, Narcan.

There will be a total of six machines with one placed in each of the following Kansas counties: Crawford, Douglas, Johnson, Reno, Sedgwick, and Wyandotte. Placing of the machines is determined by where DCCCA, a non-profit that offers substance abuse services, sees the most demand for naloxone (Narcan)—a medication carried by paramedics, police officers, and community groups.

DCCCA is leading the charge to bring these machines to the state. These vending machines will hold 150 kits each, making the medication more accessible and help the DCCCA, whose staff already ship free Narcan to those who request it, save on mailing costs.

In September, DCCCA announced its partnership with Healthy Blue in efforts to expand naloxone in Kansas. This included the DCCCA receiving $125,000 to “increase access to substance use prevention resources and tools, expand Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training opportunities, and provide naloxone vending machines for opioid overdose response.”

Democratic Governor Laura Kelly also helped in the initiative of access to FTS by signing Senate Bill 174, a bipartisan bill that, among many other things, decriminalized the sale and distribution of FTS.

“The decriminalization of fentanyl test strips is a prime example of the good we can achieve when we meet in the middle to make real progress,” Gov. Kelly said in an October press release. “I encourage all Kansans to use these new tools to reduce overdose deaths in Kansas.”

These strips are being promoted by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS), in collaboration with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) as a “harm reduction tactic capable of bringing overdose numbers down in the state.”

Synthetic opioid deaths (including fentanyl) have been on the rise in Kansas. KDHE reports a 130 percent increase in 2020 over 2019 and a 115 percent increase in 2021 over 2020.

“Communities in our state have been devastated by overdoses caused by fentanyl,” KDHE Secretary Janet Stanek said in a press release. “The decriminalization of fentanyl testing strips means we now have one more tool in place to help protect Kansans in our state who might have otherwise lost their life.”

Kansans can also receive FTS and/or Narcan from the following sources: Dance Safe, The Kansas Recovery Network, Safe Streets Wichita, CKF in Salina, Remedy Alliance for the People, and Next Distro.